Cultural values and energy-saving attitude-intention-behavior linkages among urban residents: a serial multiple mediation analysis based on stimulus-organism-response model

Abstract

PurposeBased on stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) theory and a serial multiple mediation model, this study aims to examine the relationships between cultural values and energy-saving behaviors as well as the mediation mechanisms of attitudes towards energy-saving and energy-saving intentions underlying these links.Design/methodology/approachA sample of 1,514 urban residents collected in five big cities in Vietnam and Structural Equation Modeling were employed to test the hypothesized model.FindingsThe study yields that energy-saving behaviors can be directly influenced by long-term orientation, but not by collectivism, while both collectivism and long-term orientation work as stimulus which immediately inspire attitude towards energy-savings and energy-saving intentions. Interestingly, attitudes towards energy-saving and energy-saving intentions not only serve as the most crucial predictors of entrepreneurial behaviors but also cooperate a serial mediation role in the impacts of cultural values on energy-saving behaviors.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this research can be valuable for policymakers to inspire urban residents’ energy conservation behavior for sustainable development goals.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the pro-environment literature by adopting the S-O-R theory to investigate the impacts of cultural values on the energy-saving attitude-intention-behavior relationships, explain the underlying mediation mechanism of energy-saving attitudes and intentions in transferring the influences of cultural values on energy-saving behaviors, and bridge the attitude-intention-behavior gap in the energy-saving research.